System and method for determining eligibility and enrolling members in various programs

ABSTRACT

A system and method for determining eligibility of persons and enrolling those persons in various programs. For example, one embodiment is particularly suited for enrolling credit card members in payment programs. A program is selected, after which enrollment information is entered. The enrollment information is checked and verified, and the enrollment application is checked for eligibility. The enrollment may be either accepted or declined. The possibility of reiterative enrollment in more than one program is provided. A system is provided for tracking which payment programs are the most enticing for later feedback analysis.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is filed as a continuing application under 35 U.S.C. §120 of the prior application Ser. No. 09/739,880, filed on Dec. 20,2000, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING ELIGIBILITY ANDENROLLING MEMBERS IN VARIOUS PROGRAMS,” which is herein incorporated byreference in its entirety, which is related by subject matter to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 09/391,460, filed Sep. 8, 1999, entitled“Financial Advice Strategy System,” also incorporated herein byreference. Any disclaimer that may have occurred during the prosecutionof the above-referenced application is hereby expressly rescinded.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a system and method fordetermining eligibility and enrolling eligible persons, such as creditcard members, into appropriate programs, such as programs for thepayment of past due or overdue accounts.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Credit cards allow users to receive immediate credit from the creditcard issuer by purchasing items using the credit card, and then repayingthe credit card issuer for the purchased items at a later date. Manycredit card issuers (or “issuers”) extend additional credit to creditcard members (or “credit card holders” or “card holders”) by permittingmonthly payments of less than the total balance of the credit cardaccount, in exchange for the payment of interest by the credit cardmember for the remaining balance of the credit card account. A creditcard issuer may require minimum monthly payments from a credit cardmember to ensure that the balance on the credit card account iseventually paid in full.

Some credit card members are unable to pay even the minimum monthlypayments to the credit card issuer and thus become delinquent. Varioushardships, such as divorce, illness, loss of employment or reduction inincome, may prevent a credit card member from making the requiredpayments. Credit card members may also be prevented from makingappropriate payments due to other obligations, such as mortgages, loans,and other credit card payments. Credit cards have become very widelyused due to their ease of use, relative security, and extension ofimmediate credit. Thus, there is an increased number of delinquentcredit card members.

As a result, many credit card issuers design payment programs fordelinquent credit card members. The payment programs are often tailoredto suit particular categories of hardships and circumstances such asthose mentioned above. The card members are asked to commit to paymentprograms which suit them best, and still satisfactorily repay their debtto the issuer. Providing tailored payment programs encourages cardmembers to make a commitment to repay. Card members are more likely tocomplete the payment programs if the requirements of the programs arematched with some of their particular needs.

Unfortunately, there are numerous shortcomings with existing paymentprogram eligibility and enrollment systems. Credit card issuers may havedifficulty determining which payment programs are appropriate and bestfor a particular card member, and then may have trouble committing thecard members to enroll in the program. Issuers also have difficultydesigning effective payment programs. These are significant drawbacks.

One problem may arise when some card members who are not eligible for aparticular payment program are mistakenly offered that program anyway.Conversely, another problem may arise when a card member who is eligiblefor a payment program is not offered that program. Different paymentprograms may have certain initial conditions to be eligible forenrollment. For example, a payment program may have as an initialcondition for eligibility that the delinquent card member has recentlylost his or her job. Thus, some payment programs may be appropriate forsome card members, but inappropriate for others. The issuer may notalways apply correct and uniform standards for determining eligibilityfor the payment programs. Another problem may also arise when cardmembers are offered one payment program when another payment programwould have been more beneficial to the card issuer. In circumstanceswhere a card member is eligible for more than one payment program, someof the payment programs may be more beneficial to the card issuer thanothers. These are all significant drawbacks to conventional eligibilityand enrollment programs.

Another problem with prior art systems is determining in a timely mannerthose programs for which a card member is eligible for enrollment. Theissuer may be required to obtain various information from a card memberto determine if the card member is eligible for a particular program.Obtaining this information and determining eligibility may be a lengthyprocess. This inconvenience has the effect of discouraging the cardmember from enrolling in a payment program. The inconvenience taxes theissuer's resources as well. If a card member requests information onseveral payment programs before committing to any of them, then theinconvenience for both parties is compounded. Therefore, current systemsdiscourage some card members from enrolling and are also burdensome forthe card issuer.

Another drawback of current systems is obtaining feedback on whichpayment programs are most effective. The most effective payment programsboth entice the card members and lead to repayment of the greatestpossible portion of money owed to the card issuer. Current systems donot provide feedback about which programs perform well based on thesetwo factors.

Other problems and drawbacks also exist. Although the problems anddrawbacks of the prior art have been discussed in relation to a systemand method for enrolling delinquent card members in repayment programs,these same problems and drawbacks exist in other systems for enrollingmembers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the invention is to overcome these and other existingdrawbacks of present systems and methods.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method foraccurately and consistently determining eligibility and enrollingpersons in appropriate programs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method forrapidly and easily determining eligibility and enrolling persons intoappropriate programs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a system and method forproviding feedback about which programs are the most enticing and usefulto members.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention are explainedbelow.

According to the invention, a program is selected, after whichenrollment information is entered. The enrollment information is checkedand verified, and the enrollment applications are checked foreligibility. The enrollment may be either accepted or declined. Thepossibility of reiterative enrollment in more than one program isprovided. A system is provided for tracking which payment programs arethe most enticing for later feedback analysis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for determining eligibility andenrolling persons into appropriate programs according to a firstembodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are flowcharts depicting a method for determiningeligibility and enrolling persons into appropriate programs according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are flowcharts depicting a method for determiningeligibility and enrolling persons into appropriate programs according toanother embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary sample graphical user interface for use inpracticing the method according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary sample graphical user interface for use inpracticing the method according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram representing a system for practicing themethod according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention involves a system and method for determiningeligibility in various enrollment programs. To assist in the explanationof the invention, a specific implementation thereof will now bedescribed. In one embodiment of the invention, a system for determiningeligibility and enrollment in credit card repayment programs assists acustomer service representative (“CSR”) who is speaking with the creditcard members over a telephone. The system aids the CSR by determiningwhich of several repayment programs is available to the member forenrollment and by providing the result to the CSR. The system alsoprovides the CSR with information regarding each repayment program andprompts for other information which is required for enrollment in eachrepayment program. For example, the system may inform the CSR that aparticular repayment program is intended only for those memberssuffering a hardship because of a lost job, and that enrollment in theprogram requires committing to a minimum monthly payment. Once the CSRhas entered the member's enrollment information, the system checks toensure that the information is correct or within acceptable ranges. Forexample, the system may check to see if the minimum monthly payment iswithin an acceptable range for the debt-level of the member. If all theinformation is acceptable, the system prompts the CSR to acceptenrollment of the member in the repayment program. If enrollment isaccepted, the system can update databases to record the enrollment andtake other steps according to the repayment program plan. For example,the system may spawn the creation of a letter to the member confirmingthe enrollment and the minimum monthly payment that was agreed upon.

Having explained a specific implementation of the invention, a moregeneral implementation will now be described. FIG. 1 illustrates amethod for determining eligibility and enrolling persons in appropriateprograms according to a first embodiment of the invention. At step 10,the available programs are listed. The available programs are all of theprograms offered, regardless of eligibility. The programs may be listedin an order of decreasing desirability of enrolling a person in theprogram. In other words, the program which it is most desirable for theperson to be enrolled in may be listed first on the list. One of theprograms from the list is selected at step 20. Eligibility of a personto enroll in the selected program is determined at step 30. If theperson is eligible to enroll at step 30, the program applicationinformation is immediately listed at step 50. Alternatively, if theperson is not eligible, a warning message may be given at step 40, andit is determined whether the user is a supervisor (or another withauthority to explore enrollment in ineligible programs) at step 45. Ifthe user is not a supervisor, the available programs are again listed atstep 10. If the user is a supervisor, program application information islisted at step 50. At step 60, information is collected for completingthe application. The information collected for the application issubmitted at step 70. At step 80, it is determined whether all of thenecessary program application information has been submitted. If all ofthe necessary program application information has not been submitted, anerror message is given at step 90, and program application informationmay be solicited at step 60 again. If all of the necessary programapplication information has been submitted, it is determined at step 100whether the program application information is within a normalacceptable range. If any of the program application information is notwithin a normal acceptable range, it is determined at step 110 whetherthe values fall within a supervisor's override range. If any of theapplication information does not fall within a supervisor's overriderange, an error message is given at step 90. If all of the applicationinformation falls within a supervisor's override range, then asupervisor's override approval is solicited at step 120. At step 130, itis determined whether the supervisor's override is approved by asupervisor. If the application information override is not approved by asupervisor, an error message is given at step 90. If the applicationinformation override is approved, it is determined whether the person iseligible for the program at step 140. Also, if the applicationinformation does fall within a normal acceptable range at step 100, step140 is performed. If it is determined that the person is not eligiblefor the program at step 140, a supervisor override is solicited at step150. It is determined whether a supervisor's override approval has beenobtained at step 160. If a supervisor's override approval is notobtained, then an error message is given at step 90. If a supervisor'soverride approval is obtained, or if the person is determined to beeligible for the program at step 140, then accept and decline optionsare given at step 170. The person either chooses to accept the programat step 180 or decline the program at step 190. After step 180 or 190,the application is closed and the enrollment is completed.

The method for determining eligibility and enrolling persons inappropriate programs explained above may be practiced in severaldifferent ways. According to an embodiment of the invention, the methodmay be practiced when the person enrolling speaks to a customer servicerepresentative (“CSR”) on the telephone. A software application may aidthe CSR and the person enrolling. The software application may displayon the CSR's computer terminal the list of programs according to step10, described above. The CSR and the person enrolling may interact overa telephone, where the CSR reads the list of programs to the personenrolling, who may then provide a program selection to the CSR accordingto step 20, described above. The CSR enters the enrolling person'sselection into the CSR's computer terminal, and the software applicationmay perform a routine to determine the enrolling person's eligibilityaccording to step 30, described above.

According to another embodiment, the above method may be practicedthrough the Internet. The person enrolling views a web page where asoftware application, implementing the above method, causes to bedisplayed on the web page the list of programs according to step 10,described above. The person enrolling selects a program for enrollmentand submits his or her selection, using the web browser, to the webserver according to step 20, described above. The web server submits theenrolling person's selection to a software routine where the eligibilityof the person to enroll in that program is determined according to step30, described above. According to this way of practicing the method, aCSR is not required, but may nonetheless be used.

According to a further embodiment, the above method may be practiced bycommunicating with an automatic voice messaging and informationgathering system over a telephone. Such systems are sometimes referredto as “automatic voice response” (AVR) or “voice response units” (VRU).The automatic voice messaging system could speak to the personenrolling, over the telephone, the list of programs according to step10, described above. The person enrolling could submit to the automaticvoice messaging and information gathering system his or her programchoice according to step 20, described above, by pushing a key on his orher telephone keypad or by speaking a number, which selection would berecorded by the automatic voice messaging and information gatheringsystem. A software application for the above method could then receivethe enrolling person's program selection and determine the enrollingperson's eligibility for the program according to step 30, describedabove. These are but a few examples of the ways in which the abovemethod for determining eligibility and enrolling persons intoappropriate programs may be practiced.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a method for determining eligibility andenrolling persons into appropriate programs according to anotherembodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, more than oneenrollment program may be selected through an iterative process. Ifenrollment in some of the programs is exclusive of other programs, thenone or more programs must be declined before the enrollment iscompleted. This embodiment is similar to the previous embodiment exceptthat, after the steps 180 and 190 of declining or accepting enrollmentin a program, the method returns at step 200 to step 10, where theavailable programs are again listed. A person may select another programat step 20 and continue to follow the method as described previously.Thus, the method is iterative in that a substantially similar set ofsteps may be repeated several times in order to accept enrollment in oneor more programs according to the method of this embodiment. At step 10,a close option may be selected at step 210, in which case the methodproceeds to A in FIG. 2B.

Beginning at A in FIG. 2B, a determination is made whether there aremultiple accepted programs at step 220. If multiple programs have beenaccepted, at step 230 a determination is made whether enrollment in anyof the accepted programs is exclusive of enrollment in any otheraccepted programs. If enrollment in any of the programs is exclusive,then an error message is given at step 240, and the process then passesto B in FIG. 2A, where the available programs are again listed accordingto step 10, described above. If it is determined that there are not anyaccepted programs which are exclusive of any other accepted programs,then the enrollment is completed at step 250.

The enrollment completion step 250, described above, may comprise stepsfor recording which programs were accepted and which programs weredeclined. When this information is recorded for each person involved inenrollment in the programs, the information can be gathered together andlater studied to help determine which programs are the most enticingprograms to enrolling persons, and, based on repayment performance,which are the most effective programs.

A further embodiment of a method for determining eligibility andenrolling members in various programs according to the present inventionwill now be described in connection with FIGS. 3A and 3B. Thisparticular embodiment is suited for determining the eligibility of andenrolling credit card members in payment programs. This particularembodiment is also suited to be practiced with a software applicationthat has been created to help either a CSR or a credit card memberfollow the method.

In this embodiment a list of payment programs will be displayed on agraphical user interface, according to step 610, FIG. 3A. A schematicexample of a graphical user interface 400 including a list of paymentprograms is illustrated in FIG. 4. In this example of a payment programlist, the different payment programs available for enrollment aredisplayed in rows 410. The payment program list includes a column 420providing a description of each payment program. The list may alsoinclude other columns providing other information for the programs. Forexample, a column 430 may provide information on whether the member iseligible for that particular payment program. Another column 440 mayprovide information on whether the payment program is exclusive of otherpayment programs. Another column 450 may include information on whetherthe payment program was offered to the member in the past, and if so,whether the program was accepted or declined. Rows 460 may also beincluded and will display programs grouped according to anothercriteria. For example, rows 460 may display programs for which there areno eligibility requirements-all members are eligible for these programs.

This program list also includes two option buttons: “select” and“close.” By selecting the “select” button, a program, previouslypreliminarily selected by the user through a method such ashighlighting, is finally selected, according to step 620, FIG. 3A. Byselecting the “close” button, the iterative process of selecting andenrolling in payment programs ends, according to step 810. Buttons maybe selected using conventional manners of selection (e.g., clicking on abutton with a mouse).

At step 630, an eligibility check is performed to determine if themember is eligible for the payment program selected in step 620. Forexample, eligibility to enroll in a particular payment program might belimited to credit card members who owe less than a predetermined amountto the issuer. If the enrolling person is determined to be eligible forenrollment at step 630, the program form is immediately displayed atstep 650. Alternatively, if the enrolling person is not eligible forenrollment, then a warning message will be displayed at step 640. Atstep 645, it is determined if the user is supervisor (or another personpermitted to proceed with an ineligible application). If the user is nota supervisor, then the program list is displayed at step 610. If theuser is a supervisor, then the program form is displayed at step 650.Application data is entered into the application at step 660.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates one example of a graphical userinterface 500 containing a program form according to the presentembodiment of the invention. In this example, the program form containsa description area 510, an application form area 520, and a feedbackarea 530. The description area 510, the application form area 520, andthe feedback area 530, will be pertinent to the particular paymentprogram selected in step 620. In the description area 510, informationabout the payment program is displayed. This information might include adescription of the card members who are best suited for the paymentprogram, advantages of the payment program, and other usefulinformation. In the application form area 520, payment programenrollment information is solicited and entered, and may be organizedinto distinct fields to facilitate entering and gathering the enrollmentinformation. The options may include payment amounts, payment dates,interest rates, etc. In the feedback area 530, feedback about theenrollment process may be displayed. For example, after submitting theenrollment information for a program for approval, the status of theapproval, whether it is approved or denied, may be displayed in thefeedback area 530.

The program form may also comprise six option buttons: “approval,”“decline offer,” “accept,” “decline,” “close,” and “cancel.” If the cardmember is not interested in enrolling in the payment program after theprogram form has been displayed and the payment program has beenexplained to the card member, selecting the “decline offer” button willclose the payment program form and the payment program list will againbe displayed. By selecting the “close” button, the payment program formis closed, but any payment program enrollment information alreadyentered in the application form area 520 is retained for possible futureuse. By selecting the “cancel” button, the payment program form isclosed and no information contained in the form is retained.

After completing the payment program enrollment information in theapplication form area 520, choosing the “approval” button will submitthe enrollment information in the application form 520 area to bechecked to determine if all of the necessary fields have been completed,according to step 680, FIG. 3A. If all of the necessary fields have notbeen completed, an error message is displayed at step 690, and paymentprogram enrollment information may be completed at step 660 again. Ifall of the necessary fields have been completed, it is determined atstep 700 whether the payment program enrollment information is within anormal acceptable range. For example, if a monthly payment amount isincluded in the payment program enrollment information to be entered instep 660, then there may be a requirement for a minimum amount for themonthly payment. At step 700 it would be determined if the monthlypayment amount entered at step 660 meets the minimum monthly paymentrequirement. If any of the payment program enrollment information is notwithin a normal acceptable range, it is determined at step 710 whetherthe information falls within a supervisor's override range. If any ofthe payment program enrollment information does not fall within asupervisor's override range, an error message is displayed at step 690.If all of the payment program enrollment information falls within asupervisor's override range, then a supervisor's override approval issolicited at step 720. At step 730, it is determined whether thesupervisor's override is approved by a supervisor. If the supervisor'soverride is not approved by a supervisor, an error message is displayedat step 690. If the supervisor's override is approved, it is determinedwhether the member is eligible for the payment program at step 740.Also, if the payment program enrollment information does fall within anormal acceptable range at step 700, step 740 is performed. If it isdetermined that the member is not eligible for the payment program atstep 740, a supervisor's override is solicited at step 750. It isdetermined whether a supervisor's override has been approved at step760. If a supervisor's override is not approved, then an error messageis displayed at step 690. If a supervisor's override is approved, or ifthe member is determined to be eligible for the payment program at step140, then the “accept” and “decline” option buttons are displayed on theprogram form at step 770.

By selecting the “decline” button at step 790, enrollment in the paymentprogram is not accepted and the payment program form is closed at step800. By selecting the “accept” button at step 780, enrollment in thepayment program is accepted by the card member and the payment programform is closed at step 800. The program list is then again displayed atstep 610.

In this embodiment, as in the embodiment depicted by FIGS. 2A and 2B,one or more payment programs may be viewed, approved, and enrolled induring an iterative enrollment session. When it is desired to completethe enrollment session, the “close” option button is selected at step810 and the iterative session stops. A check is performed at 820, FIG. 5to determine if the card member has enrolled in more than one paymentprogram. If the card member has enrolled in more than one paymentprogram, it is further determined at 830 whether any of the paymentprograms are exclusive of other payment programs. If any of the paymentprograms are exclusive of other payment programs, an error message isdisplayed at 840. After the error message is displayed at 840, theprogram list is again displayed at 610, FIG. 3A. This allows one or moreof the enrolled-in payment programs to be selected at step 620, and forenrollment in that payment program to be declined by following themethod explained above and selecting the “decline” button at step 790.This process will resolve any conflicts between mutually exclusivepayment programs detected at step 830. If multiple payment programs arenot detected at step 820, or if no exclusive payment programs aredetected at 830, then enrollment will be completed at step 850.

FIG. 6 schematically depicts a system 900 used to practice the method ofthe third embodiment. The system 900 comprises a CSR's computer terminalmodule 910, information database module 920, payment programs listmodule 930, payment program description module 940, validation andverification module 950, enrollment completion module 960, and paymentprogram activity tracking module 970. The CSR's computer terminal module910 may include a CPU, a screen, a keyboard, etc., as is well known. Theinformation database module 920 may comprise computer readable databaseswhich may be stored on the CSR's computer terminal, or in anothercomputer separate from the CSR's computer terminal but connected to theCSR's computer terminal through an information sharing network. Variousprocessing modules 930, 940, 950, 960, and 970 are designed toeffectively share and process information between the informationdatabases 920 and the CSR's computer terminal module 910 according topredetermined functions. These modules may be defined by computerreadable code stored and executed on the CSR's computer terminal module910 or on another computer separate from the CSR's computer terminalmodule 910 but connected to the CSR's computer terminal through aninformation sharing network such as a LAN, WAN, Internet, or similarnetwork.

The payment program list module 930 will aid in the displaying of thepayment program list according to step 610, FIG. 3A. As previouslyexplained, the payment program list includes a list of the availablepayment programs, and may further include information on whether a cardmember is eligible for the payment programs, whether the card member isalready enrolled in a payment program, or has been offered a paymentprogram but previously declined, or whether a payment program isexclusive of other payment programs. The payment program list module 930may aid in the displaying of the payment program list by providinginformation from the information databases 920 to the CSR's computerterminal 910 to help populate the payment program list. The paymentprogram list module 930 may also categorize the payment programs in anorder from the most desirable to the least desirable, based uponpredefined strategies.

The payment program description module 940 will aid in the displaying ofthe payment program description window according to step 650, FIG. 3A,and as illustrated in exemplary FIG. 5. As previously described, thepayment program description window may include descriptive informationabout the selected payment program. The descriptive information mayinclude information customized to the enrolling card member. Forexample, the descriptive information may include suggested paymentdates, and the suggested payment dates may be based upon the billingcycle for the enrolling card member. Or, the descriptive information mayinclude suggested payment amounts or interest rates, and the suggestedpayment amounts or interest rates may be based upon the enrolling cardmembers account balance or previous interest rate. The payment programdescription module 940 will aid in the displaying of the payment programdescription window by providing information from the informationdatabases 920 to help populate the payment program description window.

The validation and verification module 950 will aid in all of the datachecking and determinations of the present invention (e.g., steps 680,700, 710, etc. of FIG. 3A). The validation and verification module 950provides information from the information databases 920 about normalranges for payment program enrollment information, supervisor overrideranges for payment program enrollment information, etc. The validationand verification functions may also provide information about the cardmember's account from the information databases 920 to aid in the datachecking and determinations.

The enrollment completion module 960 will aid in enrollment completion,step 850, FIG. 3B. The enrollment completion module 960 may storeinformation about payment program enrollment acceptance and paymentprogram enrollment information in the information databases 920. Theenrollment completion module 960 may also trigger the creation ofletters to the card member, the transfer of funds between accounts, etc.

The account activity tracking module 970 may aid in determining whichpayment programs are the most enticing to card members and the mosteffective. The account activity tracking module 970 may storeinformation in the information databases 920 about how many times eachpayment program is offered to card members and how often the paymentprogram is declined or accepted or any other outcome which is desired totrack.

Other embodiments, uses and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of thespecification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. Thespecification and examples should be considered exemplary only. Theintended scope of the invention is only limited by the claims appendedhereto.

1. A computer implemented method for enrolling an individual, who has anobligation to a financial institution, in a program wherein at leastsome financial status information relating to the individual is known,comprising: providing by at least one processor a list of paymentprograms to a user; receiving, from the user, a selection of a paymentprogram suitable to the individual's financial circumstances from thelist of payment programs; determining by the at least one processorwhether the individual is eligible to enroll in the selected paymentprogram by performing an evaluation with a processor based at least inpart upon the at least some financial status information relating to theindividual; providing information on the selected payment program to theuser based on determining whether the individual is eligible to enrollin the selected payment program; receiving enrollment information forthe selected first program from the user; determining whether theenrollment information meets a set of predetermined criteria forenrolling the individual in the selected payment program by performingan evaluation with a processor on at least part of the enrollmentinformation; and enrolling the individual in the selected paymentprogram when the enrollment information meets the set of predeterminedcriteria and the individual accepts enrollment in the selected paymentprogram.
 2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the user is acustomer service representative.
 3. The method according to claim 1wherein the user is the individual who has an obligation to a financialinstitution.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the paymentprograms are credit card debt repayment programs.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein enrolling the individual in the selectedpayment program includes receiving a commitment to repay a debt underterms of the selected payment program.
 6. The method according to claim1 further comprising: storing information regarding the selection of thepayment program received from the user.
 7. The method according to claim1 further comprising: storing information regarding whether theenrollment information meets the set of predetermined criteria.
 8. Themethod according to claim 1 further comprising: storing informationregarding whether the individual is enrolled in the selected paymentprogram.
 9. The method according to claim 1 further comprising: whereineach payment program on the list of payment programs is tailored to aparticular set of financial circumstances and the evaluation based atleast in part upon the at least some financial status informationrelating to the individual includes determining whether the individualhas encountered the particular set of financial circumstances.
 10. Themethod according to claim 1: wherein after enrolling the individual inthe selected payment program, the method further comprises; providingthe list of payment programs and receiving a selection of a secondpayment program for the individual to enroll wherein the second paymentprogram is not the same as the selected payment program.
 11. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the at least some financial statusinformation includes information on programs in which the individual haspreviously enrolled and the evaluation based at least in part upon theat least some financial status information relating to the individualincludes an evaluation regarding whether the selected payment program iscompatible with the programs in which the individual has previouslyenrolled.
 12. A system for enrolling individuals who have obligations toa financial institution in payment programs comprising: an input device;an output device; a database containing information about theindividuals who have obligation to the financial institution; at leastone processor operatively associated with the input device, the outputdevice and the database, the at least one processor programmed toperform: a program list function wherein the processor outputs a list ofprograms to the output device; a program description function whereinthe processor receives a selection of a program from input through theinput device and outputs a description of the selected program to theoutput device; a validation and verification function wherein theprocessor receives enrollment information corresponding to the selectedprogram input through the input device, determines whether theenrollment information is sufficient to enroll the individual in theselected program, and outputs the results of the determination to theoutput device, and an enrollment completion function wherein theprocessor receives an enrollment decision input through the input deviceand records the enrollment decision in the database.
 13. The system ofclaim 12 wherein the list of payment programs comprises a list of creditcard repayment programs.
 14. The system of claim 12 wherein the inputdevice includes a voice response unit for receiving input from atelephone.
 15. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor isprogrammed to perform a payment activity tracking function wherein theprocessor causes the database to store information regarding paymentsreceived by the financial institution in compliance with the enrollmentdecision.
 16. The system of claim 12 wherein the processor is programmedto output a second list of programs to the output device aftercompleting the enrollment completion function, the second list programbeing compatible with the enrollment decision.